Merck achieves 7% sales growth in Q3 2015
pharmafile | November 12, 2015 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Merck, Rebif, financial results
German pharma group Merck has earned a 7% bump in its sales, and a 10% boost in earnings before deductions, according to its latest financial report for the first three quarters of 2015.
The firm, which recently rebranded to a ‘science and technology company’, says the growth in sales was driven by its life sciences division and the one-off effect from the release of provisions in its healthcare division. It also lifted its forecast for 2015 thanks to a good operational performance and the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich, a biochemical company.
Merck group sales rose in the third quarter of 2015 by 6.8% to €3.1 billion, compared to Q3 2014 sales of €2.9 billion, with particularly strong growth in the Asia-Pacific region. The region is now the largest for Merck and accounts for 34% of net sales. Group net sales rose 12.2% to €9.4 billion, up from €8.4 billion in the same period last year. All three business sectors – life sciences, healthcare and performance materials – contributed to the increase.
In the healthcare division, sales increased by 1.4% to € 1.7billion – although after the negative effects of exchange rates there was little difference from Q3 2014 performance, of € 1.7billion. Merck says the organic increase in sales was driven by sales of multiple sclerosis treatment Rebif (interferon beta-1a), which remained flat at € 468 million in the third quarter of 2015 (Q3 2014: €466 million) “despite strong competitive pressure mainly from oral formulations.”
However sales of the oncology drug Erbitux (cetuximab) declined to €223 million (Q3 2014: €232 million) due to an organic decrease and negative currency effects. Sales of the fertility drug Gonal-f (follitropin alpha) increased to €167 million in the third quarter (Q3 2014: €147 million).
For 2015, Merck says it expects its net sales to ‘increase overall’ to between € 12.6 billion and € 12.8 billion, a higher forecast than earlier of €12.3-€12.5 billion. “That’s due to the good operational development of our businesses as well as to the imminent acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich”, says Merck chief financial officer Marcus Kuhnert.
Karl-Ludwig Kley, chairman of the Merck executive board, says: “Our organic growth in all three business sectors and all regions shows that our strategy is bearing fruit. We are also well-positioned for future growth. The fact that we are lifting the forecast for the current full year is due to the good operational performance of our businesses as well as to the imminent acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich.
“Following the acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich, which we are ready to complete subsequent to final clearance from the European Commission, Merck will be one of the world’s leading suppliers in the life science industry. We are therefore especially pleased by the growth of our Life Science business. By combining our portfolio with that of Sigma-Aldrich, we will be able to cover the entire biopharma industry value chain, from discovery and development to the production of biopharmaceuticals.”
Lilian Anekwe
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